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With all due respect to Afghanistan, Wednesday’s World Cup game at the WACA was a glorified net practice for the Australians in the lead-up to Sunday’s vital clash with Sri Lanka at the SCG.
Australian captain Michael Clarke obviously didn’t think so.
If ever an Australian batsman needed time in the middle, it was Clarke. He has batted just once in a meaningful innings in 12 weeks, making an uneventful 12 runs against the Kiwis.
But Clarke decided he was beyond those facts and didn’t bat in Australia’s 7-417 slaughter, the highest total in World Cup history. Yet he bowled himself before both Glenn Maxwell and James Faulkner in the record-breaking 275-run victory.
Go figure.
What should have happened was Clarke batting three, giving himself plenty of time to get among the serious runs, and failing that batting four with 12.4 overs left when David Warner was dismissed.
That was also time enough to put together an innings of import to face the far stronger Sri Lankan attack on Sunday.
After Australia’s one-wicket loss to the Kiwis, Sri Lanka will be the most vital game the Aussies play in regulation. A loss at the SCG and Australian will finish third in Pool A, which means they will play South Africa in the quarters, when they finish second to India in Pool B.
Australia’s campaign could well finish right there.
Leaving the hard-to-fathom Clarke out of the equation, there were many pluses in the game against Afghanistan.
Warner’s swashbuckling 178 off only 133 included 19 fours and 5 sixes. He was in complete control of his shot-making, in a more sedate innings than usual. That batting will hold him in good stead against the far better Sri Lankan attack.
Steve Smith was a perfect foil for Warner, regularly feeding the left-hander the strike. He batted for 173 minutes, yet scored his 95 off only 98, including 8 fours and just 1 six.
Smith deserved a century for the unselfish way he batted. Their 260-run second wicket stand is an all-time ODI Australian record for any wicket.
With Clarke sitting on his hands in the shed, Maxwell’s promotion started with a reverse sweep on the way to smacking 50 off 21, the fastest half-century by an Australian at a World Cup.
In the end Maxwell ripped 88 off 39, with 6 fours and 7 sixes, in a typically audacious dig. He constantly rides the thin line between being a hero or a bum. Yesterday was hero status. Le’s see how he treats the Sri Lankan attack.
With the ball, Mitchell Johnson returned to his wicket-taking best with 4-22 off 7.3, but he must tighten his line and length for Sri Lanka.
Mitchell Starc’s 2-18 off six continued the big fella’s improvement, and Josh Hazlewood’s 2-25, replacing the injured Pat Cummins, was solid.
The interesting selection will be Shane Watson, left out of Wednesday’s romp. Will the all-rounder be back for Sri Lanka, or is his ODI career done and dusted? That decision could well play a major role in the outcome with Sri Lanka.
He must play, even at the expense of Mitchell Marsh.